1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, an ink-jet printer.
2. Related Art
An ink-jet printer is known as an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus. An ink-jet printer performs printing by ejecting ink (liquid) that contains precipitating ingredients such as pigment from a head onto paper (medium). In such a printer, if a stationary state of ink without flow continues for a long time, the quality of printing performed after this state is poor in some cases because a difference in ink density arises due to the precipitation of pigment contained in the ink.
In order to avoid this problem, the following technique has been proposed in related art (for example, refer to JP-A-2010-131757). An ink cartridge, which contains ink, is in communication with an ink tank through communication passages formed therebetween. A static mixer is provided inside the communication passage. Ink is caused to flow through the communication passages. Since the ink flows through the static mixer during the process of going and coming back through the communication passages between the ink cartridge and the ink tank, precipitation is reduced as if the ink were actually stirred.
The size of the printer described above is large because a mechanism for causing ink to go and come back is required. That is, in the printer disclosed in JP-A-2010-131757, it is necessary to provide the ink cartridge and the ink tank as the source and destination of ink flow.
The problem described above is not limited to a printer that ejects ink that contains pigment. The same problem arises in a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid that contains precipitating ingredients.